Intertwined Gifts
by rubinella
Summary: Hazel Haze, spirit of adventure, is chosen to be a new Guardian. But with the reputation of a troublemaking spirit, also with the fact no one had ever seen her, how will the Guardians handle her? What happens as Jack frost slowly develops feelings for her as a new enemy arises? Yet, there is more to Hazel than meets the eye, as the Guardians realise her familiar traits. JackxOC
1. Chapter 1

_"Hey Haze! Bet you can't jump down that balcony!"_

_Never did Hazel think those words could change her life. It was the dark ages when Hazel, a teenage adventurous girl decided to take the jump of a life. There was no building you could find that Hazel couldn't jump, or no forest thick enough for her to get scared. She could sneak into the villagers homes, and no one would notice._

_So when Hazel didn't emerge from the chilled winter sea after jumping from the old rusted balcony, no one worried. They knew she was playing a trick, and so they all left. Sadly, she wasn't playing any sort of trick, she was gone._

_Or, well, she thought she was gone. As she sunk into the depths of the crystallized sea, she couldn't function. Her brown hair looked silver to her for a second, but then she blanked. Nothing could be saved. Her memory was gone._

_When she awoke, nothing seemed real. Dark sand covered every inch of her body, burning as she tried to escape. She felt something enter her chest, as if it was entering her soul. A rainbow feather, golden sand, a candy cane, an easter egg and a snowflake had been put into her soul. The black sand was soon to follow, but just as some fell in, the Hazel screamed._

_The enchantment broke, and she soon found herself hitting the ice water again. Yet, it didn't feel so cold this time. It was as if the coldness was welcoming her. She rose to the surface with ease, gripping on a rock._

_Suddenly, the rock was covered in frost. She quickly removed her hands from the rock, but reattached them as she realised she was still in the water._

_ Suddenly, she heard teeth clattering. It was as quiet as a whisper, but she could hear it. She stretched her head to the other side of the rock, to see a pixie-like figure curled into a tiny ball._

_She should have been startled by the tiny pixie, but instead she reached out for her, holding the tiny fairy in her hand._

_"Don't worry," She said, "You are safe with me."_

* * *

The globe was covered in lights as Santa's yetis wrapped up the gifts. Christmas was only a week away, and the Guardians were having another one of their famous meetings.

"I say blue."

"Red is better."

"Blue."

"Red."

"Blu-"

"Will you two stop arguing for the love of pristine teeth?! Christmas is only a week away and we still need to help North with the gifts!" Tooth shouted at the bickering Bunnymud and Jack Frost.

"Fine." They both mumbled.

North chuckled at how Tooth could control them so easily, while Sandy just shook his head.

Suddenly, the alarm bells rung, and a flying figure zoomed past the large windows.

"What happened?!" Jack yelled over the noise.

"Theres been a theft." Tooth explained.

"The thief flew out!" The yetis exclaimed in their own little language.

"I'll get em'." Bunny said, but Jack was already a step ahead, flying out of the large pole windows.

"That was a good one!" Hazel said, zooming through the skies of the North Pole with her little fairy friend. "Did you see the face on that yeti? Priceless!"

The little fairy laughed, a bell-like sound coming from her mouth. Most people wouldn't be able to understand fairy language, but Hazel could. They flew faster than anyone could through the winds of the Pole, or so they thought.

"Come back here!" They heard a voice shout behind them.

They turned around to see Jack Frost speeding towards them, and immediately panicked.

"In there!" The fairy said, pointing to a cave in the snow.

Hazel momentarily blinded Jack with a beam of light as they flew into the cave, making Jack lose their path completely.

"That was worth it for these biscuits!" Hazel said, munching on a tree-shaped biscuit.

Iris, her fairy, nodded as she munched on a tiny biscuit for herself.

Hazel was quite beautiful in her own way. She had a very pale complexion with golden-honey eyes, with freckles dotted around her cheeks. She had long slightly curled silver hair that ended just above the elbow, and always wore an icy blue dress with separate sleeves, starting from the shoulders to her wrists.

She always carried a pouch strapped to her thigh, carrying mostly some magical sand she had found a few days after her 'Big Change'. She also never wore shoes; instead, she had a number of anklets and chains going up to her knees.

She usually wore a cloak, trying to cover up the small clear fairy wings from the other immortals. It wasn't entirely normal to have wings, nor wear a headband with blue roses on it.

Her favorite item was the pendent she had. It had a multi coloured moon-like jewel in it, which she had no idea where it was from.

Being the spirit of adventure had its ups and downs. One of these was that she was free, but no one could see her. She would give kids all over the world the chance to never back down, but no one had ever seen her.

Who knew how old she was, 400 maybe? Give or take, she was still just like a kid. She could climb, she could dig, but there was one thing she couldn't do.

She couldn't swim.

She also couldn't understand many things about herself. For example, she seemed to have a trait from each Guardian. She was as graceful as Tooth, as strong as North, as fast as Bunny, as caring as Sandy and as friendly as Jack. She also developed powers associated with those traits.

Yet, there was one thing that scared her.

She had the same eyes as Pitch Black.

* * *

"What could Moony want at this time of night?" Bunny asked as he entered the workshop, followed closely by Tooth and Sandy.

Jack had already arrived, due to the fact North insisted he stayed at the workshop in one of the guest bedrooms. He looked up at the globe, watching as the lights increased by the minute.

"This better be urgent, do you know how many molars need to be collected?" Tooth asked.

Jack was about to say something, but suddenly, the ground shook beneath him. He quickly jumped out-of-the-way as the blue-tinged crystal on the stone pedestal rose up, signaling only one thing could be happening.

"A new Guardian?!" Tooth exclaimed.

The crystal glowed as Bunny started praying for it not to be the Ground Hog. It projected a picture of a girl, with a cloak around her and her hood up, and so masking her face.

"How are we meant to find out who this is?" Jack asked.

Sandy took a closer look at the projection, then pointing at something no one else had seen. The Moon pendant.

"I think we have our mystery solved here." North said, "Who else do we know has such a special pendant?"

"Oh no..." Muttered Tooth.

"Not Hazel Haze!" Bunny shrieked, "Anyone but Hazel Haze!"

"Whose Hazel Haze?" Jack asked, earning weird looks from the yetis nearby.

"Oh I'll tell you who she is alright." Bunny said, "She is the most annoying trouble maker I have ever seen! She burnt my tail, and ruined my 75th Easter Egg Hunt by drawing maps for the kids! And don't get me started on what she did to Tooth."

"There is no possibility she could be a Guardian." Tooth agreed, "She hasn't even ever been seen! She created chaos without anyone catching her!"

"Shes a special one then..." Muttered North, before clapping his hands together, "Everyone, our new mission is to find Hazel Haze!"


	2. Chapter 2 'Wonderland it is'

**_Sorry guys! I accidentally uploaded the wrong chapter earlier! Heres the real one! (Thanks for telling me in the reviews)_**

* * *

Hazel awoke from her slumber in the depths of a snow-coated forest before setting off again back to her favorite town, Burgess. She rested with Iris on top of a familiar school building, watching parents drive off to work, or to bake delicious pies for their kids.

"Ok, time to spread the Adventure spirit." Hazel said, grinning at Iris as they peaked through the window, watching as the teacher gave the children yet another boring lecture.

Immediately, Hazel summoned a small globe of light, and shot it to the teacher. The teachers eyes twinkled as she threw the papers in the air and started giving a much more animate lecture.

The kids laughed as their teacher ran about, unaware that Hazel and Iris had now left.

"What now?" Iris asked, in her fairy language only comprehended by few.

Before Hazel could respond, she spotted an all-too familiar face in the distance. His silver hair stood out as he zoomed towards her.

"Time to go." Hazel said, flying as fast as she could towards the nearby forest.

"Hey! Get back here!" Jack shouted as he flew after Hazel into the forest.

Instead, Hazel shot him a beam of light, which he dodged. He caught up with the hem of her cloak and pulled her down as he landed safely onto the ground. Hazel though, had a different idea.

She yanked her cloak from Jack's grip, taking him by surprise as she blasted a light ray into his eyes, causing him to fall over. She took this as an advantage as she leaned over, using a large stick to block his throat to the ground. By now, she was holding him down as he recovered from the sudden beam of light.

"I do not appreciate it when strangers catapult themselves towards me, thank you." She said, letting go of the branch and getting ready to leave.

"Hold on!" He said, standing up again, "Why did you steal from North's workshop?"

Hazel turned around, her golden honey eyes meeting with his ice blue ones.

"Steal? I only picked up lunch." She replied, before setting off with Iris right behind her.

If Jack had looked close enough, he would've seen the moon pendant around the girl's neck.

* * *

The next day, the Guardians had rounded up once again at North's workshop, talking as made tea in the background.

"So, how will we find Haze?" Jack asked, at which ears pricked up.

"No clue mate, but no one has seen her. Ever." Bunnymud replied.

"Hazel Haze, Spirit of Adventure?" asked, to which she got a nod from Sandman.

She laughed, shaking her head.

"I happen to know someone that has seen Hazel." She said.

"You do?" Tooth asked, excitedly.

"She comes here every week for my famous cookies. She eats mountains of them but doesn't gain any weight! I swear, that girl must have a secret." She explained, laughing at the stunned expression on the Guardians faces.

Realization washed over Jack's face as he recalled the events of the previous day. She was Hazel Haze? He couldn't believe how close he had been to the girl the were looking for.

" , would you be able to call her here?" Tooth asked.

"Oh, thats as easy as baking cookies! I'll be back in a flash!" said, scurrying out to the kitchen.

Sandman shrugged as Bunnymud gave him a questioning look. After what seemed like hours, they heard talking to someone.

"Ah, Hazel! What a pleasure to have you back here." She said.

"The pleasure is mine , but why did you call me?" A female voice said, to which the Guardians recognised as Hazel's.

"Oh, nothing about me, my husband wanted to meet you."

"Santa? Am I still on the naughty list? Because the setting fire to his beard incident was a complete accident."

"Oh dear, you are close second after Jack Frost! But don't worry, you are in no trouble at all!"

"Ah-" Hazel was cut short as she stood infront of the Guardians, now fully aware they were watching her intently. Never had they seen such a spirit before, alluring yet giving off an aura of mischief.

"Bunny, long time, and nice tail. Took quite a long while to grow back?" She asked mockingly as left.

"Oh, and North," She continued, "You have a lovely wife, and I see your beard is nearly completely re-grown. And how about you Sandy? Still enjoy entering childrens dreams? How about you Tooth, still sending out fairies to do your job?"

The truth was, Hazel had quite a disliking to the Guardians; mostly for their way of working. To her it seemed like they never did their own jobs, and when they did, invaded peoples minds.

"Oh, um, Hazel. How… Lovely to see you." Tooth tried, "I adore your, um, flower crown."

"I was wondering around Mother Natures Garden, found the blue roses and thought why not? As I'm the spirit of Adventure, you can't expect much difference from me." She said mockingly.

Jack had never thought the spirit of Adventure could ever be so disinterested and cold. He expected her to be jiddy and joyful.

"And you must be Jack Frost, the one that attacked me yesterday?" She asked, tilting her head to the side.

"Listen Haze, we want to-" Bunny started.

"Save it Kangeroo, I already know everything," Hazel started, pointing at the obvious projection of her figure from the crystal, "And the answer is no."

North quickly blinked twice, before bursting in a fit of laughter.

"Great acting girl, but sorry to say you didn't fool me."

"I wasn't acting." She replied to North, arms crossed over her chest. "I'm the spirit of Adventure, I can't stay in one place all the time. I need to be free, not some sort of Guardian puppet. And if you haven't realised yet, I dislike you all."

The room fell silent, everyone looking down to the ground. All except Hazel, who simply crossed her arms.

A small grin flickered onto Bunny's mouth as he finally spoke.

"So, yer not interested in a challenge, are ya?"

* * *

"Child's play." Hazel lied, landing gracefully on the edge of the cliff.

The chilling winter breeze sent her silver hair around as she peered over the cliff's edge. The chilled sea was down below her, sending chills down her spine more than any type of wind could.

The waves crashed on the large, seaweed-covered rocks. No one dared to come to the beach at this time of the year, which was reasonable since most people were surprised frost didn't cover the sandy beaches.

_"Hey Haze! Bet you can't jump down that balcony!"_

She heard that voice rin in her head, but ignored it. The voices tormented her day by day, forcing her to remember. But she couldn't.

She was now standing on the half-broken balcony, looking down.

"If you can jump down," Bunny said, pointing to the sea, "We'll leave you alone."

"And if I don't?"

"Then your becoming a Guardian."

The thought of becoming one of them chilled her nearly as much as the winter breeze did. She was about to jump when Iris popped out of her cloak, saying things as fast as a hummingbird.

"Calm down!" Hazel said to the minute fairy, "I know what I'm doing."

Before the Guardians had time to ask who or what Iris was, she jumped. Heading straight into the water she closed her eyes, until reopening them, filling them with determination.

As she was about to hit the water, she pushed back into the air, barely skimming the ice-cold sea as she flew up high in the sky, away from the Guardians.

Iris cheered in Hazel's pocket as they rode the winds, away from the Guardians, now with slack jaws.

"Well, she _did_ jump." Jack said, realization hitting Bunnymud.

"We'll get her." North said, before throwing a globe on the floor and teleporting back to the workshop.

* * *

"Ouch!"

Hazel emerged from a pile of dead leaves, rubbing her head sheepishly at Iris, who was floating in front of her, arms crossed.

"Ok! Maybe tree climbing blindfolded isn't my speciality, but its fun!"

Iris simply rolled her eyes, but a small grin plastered on her face.

They were in the small part of the forest that had yet to be affected by snow. The fallen leaves were crispy and the trunks dry as Hazel leaned against one.

There wasn't much to do for the two friends usually, so they went around causing trouble for days. That day they took some time off, eating fruit and jumping from tree to tree. At some time during the day they had decided to take a little trip somewhere, and so they went.

They had just landed in a park somewhere in Paris when a very familiar figure stood behind them. They didn't move until a sack was pulled on them and they were dragged away.

* * *

"Really North? The sack trick again?"

"It worked with Jack!"

"Don't remind me."

Hazel peaked out of the sack to find her least favorite five people arguing.

"Every thought about a discussion with tea and cookies?" Hazel asked, brushing dust off her dress as everyone turned to her.

Before any of them could answer back, a melodic woman's voice rang through the room.

"Hello Guardians."

Everyone turned to the source of the voice, which happened to be, surprisingly, the Sun.

"I am Sun, daughter of Moon. I am finally able to contact you for an emergency." She said, pausing for a moment. "The elements of Balance are missing."

Everyone apart from Jack and Hazel gasped.

"What are the elements of Balance?" Jack asked North.

"They keep balance between good and evil. It is believed that without, world falls into chaos." North explained, his Russian accent much more prominent.

"You six must retrieve the elements, but the only way is to follow the clues left. You are our only hope, Guardians."

"Woah woah woah, hold it there." Hazel said, "Who says I'll help?"

"You did just now." Jack said with a smirk.

"Besides," Tooth interrupted before an argument started, "without you, we can't find them. We need to gather all six, not five."

A parchment scroll floated to the ground, tied with a red ribbon. North picked it up as the sun disappeared, being soon replaced with the evening light.

"For first the gift of Wonder is,  
A very special one it is.  
For found not in a rabbit's hole,  
But beyond the purple wooden door.  
For those who dare to hunt or seek,  
Good luck, and that may the beacons beak."

Everyone turned to North puzzled, until Hazel grinned.

"Well, I guess Wonderland it is."


	3. Chapter 3 Lets go to Wonderland!

"Riding on a sledge was _not_ in the job description."

"Neither was riding with a hard-headed idiot."

"I'm glad we feel the same way, kangaroo"

"Why you-"

Bunnymud and Hazel kept arguing in the back of the sledge as North directed the reindeers. Sandy, Tooth and Jack were busy in a game of cards to pay attention to the argument.

"Fine then!" Bunny said, "Lets have a race."

"The deformed kangaroo can fly?" Hazel mocked, at which Iris snickered.

"Actually, I meant you and twinkletoes over here." Bunny said, pointing at Jack.

"You what?" Jack said as Sandy won the game of cards, cheering silently.

"You and Haze are down for a race." Bunny explained with a smirk.

"There is no way I'm racing _him_." Hazel said, crossing her arms.

"Aww, is little miss adventure time scared?" Jack mocked.

"Not of you, snowflake." She responded, "I just prefer not flying when those things are around."

She pointed behind her, Tooth's eyes widening.

Behind them, large nightmare horses were galloping towards them.

"You guys keep going, I'll handle them." Hazel said, before flying towards them, soon followed by Iris.

"Oh no you don't!" Jack said, flying after her.

Sandy took off too, getting ready to use his magic sand.

The six horses split up, a pair for each of them.

"I call left." Hazel said, flying off to the two stallions.

Sandy and Jack stood in front of the four horses. Frost was thrown, golden sand used. They had managed to take them down before more horses appeared, looking more menacing than before.

Meanwhile, Hazel was speeding off to find those two horses. Finally finding the two nightmares, she stared them right in the eye.

The nightmares recognised those yellow orbs, bowing down to the girl. Hazel cocked an eyebrow, before shrugging and conjuring two golden light orbs. Not long after Hazel flew away, nothing but black sand left.

Jack and Sandy were surrounded, until a great golden light was shot to the nightmares, dissolving them.

"And _you're_ meant to be guardians?" Hazel said smirking before flying back to the sledge.

* * *

They landed softly in the Brecon Beacons National Park, most of them shivering.

"It's not even that cold." Hazel said, raising an eyebrow at the shivering Bunnymud.

"I say we split up and look for some sort of rabbit hole." Tooth said.

Hazel didn't need to be told twice, and took off, going West.

* * *

Two hours later, and they still hadn't found anything. Hazel had given up long before, deciding to search between the leaves in a small forest-like area.

"Nothing here either." She sighed, wanting nothing but to go home.

She stood up, brushing the dirt off her dress before turning around. She immediately crashed into someone, falling back to the floor.

"Ouch..." She muttered, rubbing her back.

"Should look where you're going." Jack muttered, rubbing his head.

"Wouldn't have to if you didn't get in my way."

Jack stood up, and despite the earlier remark made by Hazel, he extended a hand to help her up. She ignored that, getting up on her own.

"Any luck?" Jack asked, tucking his hands in his hoodie and leaning back on his heels.

"Nope, just a pile of leave- Where the heck did Iris go?!"

As if on cue, the little fairy came zooming towards her, carrying a large book despite her size.

Hazel took the book from Iris, grinning while reading the cover.

"You're a genius!" She said to the fairy, forgetting about Jack and taking off.

"Wait up!" Jack said, taking off after her.

Hazel didn't pay attention to Jack as she flipped through the book.

"Found it!" She said, suddenly stopping in mid-air.

"What are you-" Jack started, being interrupted by the gust of wind Hazel made, flying full speed to the ground.

She passed Sandy first, who trailed after Jack, also speeding after Hazel.

Bunny and North stood next to a large pile of leaves, now flying everywhere due to the speed everyone was going.

"What the-" Bunny started, brushing leaves off him before North also started going for them. Bunny, though, had a different idea.

Iris and Hazel flew at the speed of light, only to be stopped by Bunnymud emerging from a hole in front of them, holding out his paw. -

* * *

"What on earth..."

Tooth crossed her arms, shaking her head at the sight of the four Guardians and Hazel in a pile on the snow-covered grass. Golden sand and leaves surrounded them as Bunnymud groaned, scratching his aching head.

"What was that for kangaroo?" Hazel said, getting up.

"Not my fault you were flying like a- How is that girl sitting in the snow without a coat?!"

They all turned to the girl Bunnymud was referring to. She was sat on a tree, reading a book, wearing nothing but a light summer dress. She took no notice as the Guardians and Hazel approached her.

"Relax, she can't see us." North said.

"Actually I can."

The girl kept her eyes glued to the book as the six spirits looked at her curiously.

"Who are you?" Tooth asked the girl.

"Lorina Liddell." She replied, turning the page of the old-looking book.

"How can you see us?" Bunny asked, standing in front of her and waving his paw in front of her.

"Shes a spirit." Hazel answered.

"_Shes_ on a tight schedule, so if you want to go down to Wonderland, you better hurry." She replied bitterly.

"How _do_ we get to Wonderland in the first place, if it even exists here?" Jack asked.

Lorina pointed to the snow-covered burrow next to the tree. The entrance was small and partly blocked, and they had no idea how North would fit through.

* * *

"Pull!"

"We're trying to! Maybe you should try pushing kangaroo?"

"Can you two stop arguing for a minute?"

"We could, but this is obviously taking longer don't you think?!"

"Just shut up and pull!"

Hazel and Sandy, being the smallest ones, had gone in first. Then North had gone in, obviously getting stuck in the tunnel. What did they expect, the hole was tiny!

Tooth, Bunny and Jack were left pushing North through, obviously having no luck. Finally, they forced North through, sending Sandy and Hazel tumbling down the tunnel. North soon followed, along with Bunny, Jack and Tooth.

They landed in front of a door. Hazel was the first to get up before being knocked back down by the other Guardians.

"We should really stop falling over." Jack muttered, before his eyes fell to the large purple door.

North was the first to push the door open, and a bright light blinded them. When they adjusted to the light, it wasn't like anything they had imagined.

They were at the top floor of a large, circular arena, with many floors lined with people. The top floor was the only one with many doors and people of all sorts walking through them. Some wizards, some spirits, some- Was that a purple cat?

Peering down to the main arena, Hazel could see many horses on a racing track. The one that stood out the most was a white one with different card symbols on it.

Everyone on the top floor was shouting different things. Betting, advertising... But there was one person that caught Bunnymud's eye.

Near the door they had come from stood a girl, about the age of Jack and Hazel. She had a lightly tanned complexion, blue eyes and dirty blonde hair, nearly light brown. She wore a light blue dress with white lace edges. She had flyers in her hands, trying to catch people's attention.

"Stop betting on horses! They have feelings, you know!" She preached to the passer-bys, but they all ignored her.

Her smile fell for a moment, but then came back as bright as ever. She kept trying to get people's attention, but failed miserably.

The group passed the girl, and Hazel was the first to notice her.

"Hello, would you like a flyer?" The girl asked politely as Hazel approached her.

"Oh, yes sure." She said, quickly reading over the flyer. "So this is a horse race?"

The girl nodded sadly. "They do one every week. This is the special Christmas one, where the Queen Of Hearts is actually attending! She usually lets her guards go or someone who works for her, she always wants her horse to win. I find it unfair, you know, how the animals have to compete for some silly bets."

"What's your name?" Tooth asked, fluttering next to her.

"Alice, Alice Liddell. You might have met my sister if you came through the purple door. I'm surprised she let anyone through!" She rambled, "She usually just sits on that old tree and reads books. She doesn't believe we can go to Wonderland as simple spirits, but I've been! She only guards the door that leads from the Brecon, so I stay down here in Wonderland to try to stop this horse race."

"Wait, slow down." Jack said, "We are in Wonderland right now?"

She nodded. "Oh, I didn't give you all a chance to introduce yourselves! How rude of me."

"Bunnymud, the Easter Bunny." Bunnymud quickly said before Tooth could hold her hand out.

"Toothiania, the Tooth Fairy." Tooth said, giving Alice a kind smile.

"I'm North, and this little guy here is Sandman." North said, gesturing to first himself then Sandy.

"Jack Frost." Jack nodded.

"Oh! You are the famous Guardians!" Alice said, clapping her hands together.

"Famous?" Jack asked.

"Yes! Everyone here has heard of you! You might even get to sit in the premium seats!" Alice said, "I didn't know there were six of you?"

"Actually-" Bunnymud said, but froze when Hazel was nowhere in sight.

"Actually, we have to go now." Tooth said, "We need to find our, um, friend."

The Guardians said quick goodbyes to the girl before looking for Hazel. Just as they were about to descend to the next floor, Bunnymud took one last look at the girl, who was back to handing out flyers, beaming.

The arena was actually quite large. The sun beat on top of them as they walked down wooden stairs to the next floor. Not many people were on the next floor, but considerably more than the top one.

They went down to the next floor, where it was basically packed with people. Jack spotted Hazel in a corner, her hood over her head. She was resting her arms on the wooden railings. Iris was perched on her shoulder, giving off a purple aura like any other fairy would. He nudged Bunnymud, nodding towards her.

They pushed through people until they got to her, but she seemed to not even acknowledge their presence.

"This place is pretty jam-packed." Hazel said to Jack, who was now standing next to her.

"Why did you leave upstairs?" Jack asked.

"I don't like introductions. Or people mostly. I prefer to stay in the shadows." She explained, still looking down at the horse racing track.

The other Guardians stood behind them, talking about how they were meant to find a gift of Balance here. It all felt too sudden to Hazel. Why would the sun speak to them so suddenly in the first place? Wasn't that the Moon's job to make the Guardians go on strange, useless missions?

She didn't mean to be so cold towards the Guardians, she just didn't like them. She didn't like most people, that's why she would erase their memories of her when they saw her. She liked to lay low, and she had only let her guard down twice, the second time when she had allowed the Guardians to drag her along in this mission of them. The first time... Well, she didn't like thinking about it.

She looked back down to the racing track. Suddenly, her eyes caught something glittering golden.

The horseshoe on one of the horse's hooves looked strangely different, a little magical. Then it hit her. Arn't horse shoes meant to be silver? Iris spotted the strange horse shoe too, and quickly started flying towards it.

No one noticed her in the lower floors, but she could see a large red and white throne in the bottom floor. She didn't pay much attention to it, and quickly flew to the horse with the golden horse shoe.

It gave off a magical glow, like Hazel had thought. Iris tried touching it, but there was a force stopping her, like a sort of protection barrier. The horse seemed fine with the horse shoe. In fact, it looked nearly proud, and Iris knew the horse shoe was the first gift of Balance.

She flew back up at the sound of trumpets playing. Iris tumbled into Hazel's hands as the trumpeter spoke to the audience.

"The Queen, Your Majesty Queen Of Hearts."

Hazel grinned. This was going to be interesting.


	4. Chapter 4 'The Golden Horseshoe'

An important looking woman with long knee-length black hair walked on the platform in the middle of the arena, surrounded by guards. She wore a golden crown and strands of pearls around her neck. Her bright red lipstick shaped her lips in a heart and her heels clicked on the wooden platform under her long, red dress.

"Ladies and gentlemen, mortals and immortals, animals and humans," She began, speaking in a microphone, "It is a pleasure to announce this year's Christmas horse race!"

The crowd gave a cheer, some men holding mugs whistled and whooped. North frowned. He knew Christmas shouldn't be spent like this!

"We shall begin when the clock strikes midday." The woman Hazel supposed was the Queen spoke.

The large clock tower standing behind the queen showed less than two minutes till midday. People started talking around the group, and Bunnymud spotted Alice coming their way.

Hazel pulled her hood lower onto her face as Alice approached, cheerfully waving at the Guardians.

"And I thought I was the antisocial one." Jack muttered to Hazel, who didn't show any sign of emotion. Jack raised an eyebrow at that. He could always make someone chuckle at the least, but Hazel remained motionless, watching the horses in the arena.

While the other Guardians chatted to Alice, Jack started scanning the crowd on the other side of the arena. It was only when the clock struck twelve and the horses started running that Hazel spoke.

"The first gift is the golden horseshoe on the tenth horse." Hazel said, her eyes fixed on the horse in question, speeding through the track. "It shouldn't run this fast if it carried extra weight, and gold is much heavier than metal, which means the race is most possibly already planned, and that the tenth horse is meant to win."

Jack stared a little at Hazel. She had figured it out so easily. He was about to reply until Alice perched herself over the railing between them, looking down at the game and frowning.

"Its the third time in a row number ten is in the lead this season," She said, "It all started when the queen decided to sponsor the owner a few weeks back."

Hazel froze. Of course it had something to do with that woman. She started scanning the crowd in the bottom floor next to the queen. They all looked very important or royal, but there was one that stuck out. A man in a very strange orange suit stood near the queen, a high orange hat, adorned with playing cards and paint stood on top of his mob of messy brown hair. If it wasn't for the sun shining in her face she would've sworn he had just winked at her, but she shook that thought away.

"How are we going to get the horse shoe?" Jack whispered to Hazel once Alice had gone back to the others.

Hazel's eyes remained fixed on the queen, who was peering at the horse race through a pair of peering glasses held up by the guards. Something didn't fit.

Wonderland was a different world than the world she was use to. People seemed to know each other, to enjoy people's company. She just didn't fit in all this, and it just wasn't fair.

Somehow, she started to drift off to her memories. From the times she had altered people's memories with that golden sand to erase herself from the world, to the times she wished she hadn't. It wasn't her fault, she didn't know why she did it, but it felt better than having them live with her memory.

She shook those thoughts away and returned to her task. The sooner she was done with the Guardians, the better it would be when it came to erasing their memories. It would hurt less, at least.

Gold wasn't meant to be so light, so it had to be enchanted. That narrowed the people in the arena to those who could perform enchantments. Also, Alice had said that the horse had started winning from when the queen had decided to sponsor it, but why that horse? She already had one in the race, and by the looks of it, it wasn't doing very good.

The white horse she assumed to be the queen's was, in fact, in last place. It was the one they had seen earlier, with the card symbols imprinted into its mane. The horse seemed to run as fast as it could, but it also didn't look in the best shape. Meanwhile, as the other horses looked just as bad, the horse with the golden horseshoe was just fine.

The race was about to end, and Hazel suddenly had an idea. Making sure no one could see her, she summoned a small golden orb in the palm of her hand. She blew on it, sending it toward the queen's original horse. The horse seemed startled at first, but started galloping faster. Sooner or later, it was head-to-head with the first horse.

People gasped and cheered at the sudden change. The queen didn't seem bothered, but someone else did. Next to the queen, a very important-looking man stood behind the throne. At first Hazel hadn't seen him, but looking closely, he would've been her first suspect.

He had a black fedora hat over his eyes, wearing a battered suit and looking very closely at the game. One hand was in his pocket, and the other was holding onto a betting slip as his life depended on it. It would all look fairly standard if it wasn't for the fact that the horse seemed to react to its intent stare.

"What did you do to it?" Jack asked Hazel as she watched the horses.

"Just gave it a little boost." She said, watching as the horses were only one hundred meters away from the finish line.

"Sounds like fun," He replied, "But I want to try too."

Hazel didn't understand Jack at first, but then she understood as he tapped the railing with his staff. A trail of frost went down the walls, onto the arena ground and into the race track. Just as the horses were about ten meters away, the frost overtook the rest of the track.

The horses slipped and wobbled, to which Hazel had to try hard to keep a straight face to. The horse with the card-symboled mane regained its balance, and started sliding to the finish line. When the other horse had gotten up, it was too late.

* * *

Not many seemed too enthusiastic about the queen's horse winning. Most had placed bets on the second hose, the one everyone had known would win. In the chaos of the betting and protesting, Hazel slipped out of the crowd with Iris, and made her way to the stables.

He ran her hand over the old stable door, the wood feeling rough and somewhat familiar. She slowly pushed it open, creeping in the stable. The horses were in their stalls, and no one else seemed to be near.

_"Who goes there?"_ a voice boomed through the stable.

Hazel froze, swallowing the knot that had now formed in her throat. She took a deep breath before speaking.

"I'm just passing through." She said, searching for that someone or something the voice belonged to.

_"No mortal is welcome here! Leave at once, and do not disturb the horses about your useless bets."_ The voice boomed again.

"I'm not a mortal." She muttered, Iris flying around the stable. "And I'm not here for the bets."

_"Oh really? Then what __**are**__ you here for?"_ The voice seemed curious now.

"Something about one of the horses was off." She started, "The one with the golden horseshoe."

There was a short pause before the voice spoke again, this time in a much calmer voice.

_"Open the third stall door."_

Hazel hesitated, but something made her push the stall door open. In front of her stood the queen's horse, it's mane glittering in the sun's rays.

"Sorry for startling you," The horse spoke, "We get so many visitors complaining about the bets, so we just scare them off."

Hazel slowly nodded, before asking "You talk?"

The horse seemed to smile at her, and she felt herself relax.

"We talk personally to only ones with good will." The horse said, "And I believe, you, Hazel Haze spirit of Adventure, you have suffered in many ways in the past centuries, so much pain for a young girl. You live with that pain, and that makes you determined. So now, we ask for your help."

Hazel blinked a few times. How did this horse know so much about her?

"What can I do to help you?" She said before stopping herself.

The horse gestured its head towards the next stall door and nodded. Hazel slowly walked to the next stall, pushing the door open.

Sat on the floor was the horse with the golden horseshoe, but it really didn't look healthy. It was breathing heavily, drenched in sweat.

"Ever since the new blacksmith put that strange horseshoe on Boil here, he hasn't been feeling well." The queen's horse explained.

The horse Hazel supposed was named Boil started coughing and wheezing. The horseshoe glowed, shining until he was back to breathing heavily.

"T-Take it off... Please..." Boil wheezed, starting to cough again.

"Only a spirit can handle this magic." The queen's horse said, "So please Hazel Haze, spirit of Adventure, help us."

Before Hazel could say anything, the stable doors were pushed open, hitting the wooden walls with a loud thump.

"Whos there?!" A loud, menacing voice shouted through the stables.

Hazel froze as the man came to view. He wore a blacksmith's mask covering his face, thick heavy trousers, leather boots and a thick leather apron. He held a branding tool, which still looked fairly hot.

Hazel didn't move as he came closer, holding the branding tool towards her.

"Your not going anywhere now..." The man hissed, holding the branding tool near her face.

Before she knew it, her hand had shot up, sending a ghast of frost at the man. There was a lot of smoke, but when it had gone, Hazel couldn't believe what she had done. The man was frozen solid now, trapped under thick layers of ice.

"H-How..." Hazel stuttered, looking at her own hand.

Iris, too, was stunned. Never had Hazel used any power except lights and light rays, but she had just frozen solid a man! The horses, too, were stunned, all except one. The queen's horse. Infact, it was the first to speak.

"Now let's get that horse shoe off, shall we?"

* * *

"Where on earth is Hazel?!" Tooth said, now panicking.

It had been half an hour since any of the Guardian's had seen Hazel. They had all been pushed out of the arena when the game had ended, and so they were waiting for her outside the entrance.

"Give 'er a few more minutes." Bunnymud said, but he couldn't deny he, too, was worried.

"If she's not coming back in the next five minutes, I'm going back in there." Jack said.

"Going where?"

They turned around, and right in front of them stood Hazel, eating some sort of berry with Iris.

"Hazel!" North exclaimed, holding her shoulders, "You ok?"

Hazel nodded, shrugging North's hands off.

"Can we go now? Its getting dark soon." Hazel said, walking towards the sledge.

"We cant until we get the horseshoe." Bunnymud said, and before North could add anything to the statement, Hazel pulled out the horse shoe from her cloak and throwing it into Bunnymud's hands.

"Done. Lets go?" She asked the Guardians, their jaws slack.


End file.
